purr

Archaic, pur

[pur]

verb (used without object)

1. to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does.

2. (of things) to make a sound suggestive of the purring of a cat.

   The new motor of the car purred.

verb (used with object)

1. to express by or as if by purring.

noun

1. the low, vibrating sound made by a cat by the contracting of the laryngeal muscles and the diaphragm as it breathes.

2. a sound resembling this.

3. the act of purring.

purr

/ pɜː /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of cats) to make a low vibrant sound, usually considered as expressing pleasure, etc

2. (tr) to express (pleasure, etc) by this sound

noun

1. a purring sound

Other Word Forms

• purringly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of purr¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; imitative

Word History and Origins

Origin of purr¹

C17: of imitative origin; compare French ronronner to purr, German schnurren, Dutch snorren

Example Sentences

The facilities are a quietly purring economic engine, injecting billions in investment, employment and anchoring the tech multinationals which, coupled with big pharma, fund over half of Ireland's corporate-tax take, according to analysts.

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David Cameron was rapped on the knuckles when he claimed the late queen "purred" down the phone line when he told her the result of the Scottish referendum.

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When the hands are focused on my back, I’m awash in a full-body buzz of calm, as if my entire nervous system were a purring cat.

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"Tee off on a trail of history," the club history purrs.

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That voice is all purr and growl, like a lion clawing its way through velvet.

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